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German to English translations [PRO] Social Sciences - Poetry & Literature
German term or phrase:mir is alles aus, mir is alles aus...
This seems to be something taken from a poem or song in dialect, but was used in a 1940 letter, written by a Jewish woman in Vienna to her sister in New York, in the following context:
"Vor allem war heute der erste Schultag und meinen Beruf als Religion-Lehrerin habe ich endgültig niederlegen müssen, um ihn als Lehrerin in der Castellezgasse einzutauschen. Und zwar hat mir Herr X vor 4 Tagen von diesem Wechsel Mitteilung gemacht und mich darauf vorbereitet, daß ich eine erste Klasse zu übernehmen hätte. Mittels einschlägiger Werke versuchte ich nun in dieser kurzen Zeit, einen Einblick in das Wesen der 1. Klasse zu gewinnen, und erfuhr gestern zu meiner Enttäuschung, daß wiederum eine Änderung vorgenommen wurde: ich muß eine 3. Klasse Knaben leiten, was ich nur sehr ungern tue, aber mir is alles aus, mir is alles aus..."
Sorry for the delay in getting back to this! The letter is indeed handwritten, and still looks more like "aus" than "ans" but I'm convinced the writer was actually quoting the Vienna folksong "Mir is alles ans, ob i a Geld hab oder kans." I wish I knew how to post an image of the handwritten version here, but apparently lack the technical skills! :-) At any rate, it seems she was saying "it's all the same to me, it's all the same to me..." based on all of the information provided by Björn Vrooman and confirmed by several others!
Indeed, all due respect for the high level of skill required for this type of project translating historic primary sources steeped in the vernacular and culture of the time.
Are you seriously suggesting that, after half a career (or so it seems) spent deciphering handwritten correspondence from 1940s Vienna, Timoschka is incapable of telling his Sütterlin 'n's from his 'u's? In the highly unlikely circumstances that your supposition is correct, however, I applaud your inspired insight ;-)
Right at the beginning of the discussion, I asked whether Timoshka mistook an "n" for a "u"; I assume these are handwritten letters. That kind of thing has happened to me before, so I don't find it unusual.
The difference between "n" and "u" is really small.
And while many of these letters have a few "grammatical hiccups," the phrase "mir ist alles aus" sounds odd (maybe, but that's pretty far-fetched, "mir ist alles ein Graus" or "bei mir ist die Luft raus")--even to someone who used to live in southern Germany for a pretty long time.
Open to other interpretations, of course, but regarding Timoshka's other Qs, there was at least some kind of German reference you could point to.
Here, there's nothing. Guess we need to wait for more context.
It does rather hinge on whether 1. 'ans' or 2. 'aus' appears in the source phrase, and what follows it (as presented, it's something of a cliff-hanger). It could be read as 1. a resigned 'what's one to do?' or 2. a more exhausted 'I'm all worn out /done in'.
Usually, I'd agree, but I think the phrase is being repeated, as it is in the song, because it'd be hard to make the connection without it.
You might also repeat something precisely because you're frustrated about how things are going. It's like shrugging it off or could even be seen as an "act" of defiance (=whatever).
Also, you know very well that all these folk music-loving Germans like repeating words for no other reason than to be able to clap their hands one more time =)
Of course, it all depends on whether we're talking about "ans" or "aus", though the latter actually doesn't make much sense to me here.
Agree with Björn -- 'ah well, that's how it goes/so be it/such is life/whatever comes my way' seems to be the mood, if it's a reference to that phrase and song lyric.
seehand! A quite literal, but pretty accurate, rendering would be "it's all the same to me," I think. Nowadays, you'd really say something like "...but it's whatever..."--while sipping on your mocaccino, though =)
PS One option could be: "[I really don't believe I'm the right person to teach a class full of young boys,] but so be it."
"I'm out of options, I'ce run out of all other options..."
Explanation: "First of all, today was the first day of school and I had to resign from my job as a religion teacher for good in order to exchange it for a job as a teacher in Castellezgasse. Four days ago, Mr X informed me of this change and prepared me to take over the first class. In this short time I tried to gain an insight into the nature of the first class by means of relevant research, and yesterday I was disappointed to learn that another change had been made: I have to lead a third class of boys, which I do only very reluctantly, but I'm out of options, I've run out of all other options ...".
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 7 hrs (2023-09-19 08:05:48 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
"I'Ve ", sorry, obviously not "I'ce";
Andrew Bramhall United Kingdom Local time: 00:43 Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 4
